Until a terrible injury happens to you or a family member because of someone else's carelessness, you probably give little thought to the civil justice system that holds wrongdoers accountable in American courts. Except for a nagging thought that maybe there are a lot of frivolous lawsuits out there.

That anti-lawsuit thought is planted in people's brains courtesy of the massive public relations machine of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (which happens to be a few blocks from my own office in downtown Washington).